Effects of Dietary Fiber in Patients with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta Analysis

Abstract

Nine published studies were involved in this meta- analysis, sample size wide-ranging from 6 to 35 subjects, adding together 154 subjects for intervention group and from 6 to 23 subjects, totaling 129 for control group. Fiber consumption extended from 4 to 40g per day. Different types of fiber were involved in this study. All the studies included in this study involved measurement of fasting blood glucose in mmol/L and glycated hemoglobin as percentage of hemoglobin for both the intervention group and control groups. Methods of diet were different, the durations of treatment with different types of fiber were varied from 4-week period to 6-month period. The overall mean difference was a decrease of Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) by fiber intake of 0.91 mmol /L (95% CI, 1.18 –0.64) more than the decrease from placebo in fixed effect model and -1.17 (95% CI:-1.97 ; -0.36) in random effect model ,high heterogeneity was witnessed (p less than 0.01, I^2 = 88.0%). The overall mean difference was a reduction of
glycosylated hemoglobin by fiber intake of 1.03 mmol/L (95% CI, 1.31; –0.76) more than the reduction from placebo in fixed effect model and -1.08 (95% CI: -1.94;-0.21) in random effect model. High heterogeneity was witnessed (p less than0.01, I^2 = 89.0%).